Ștefan Micle (25 September 1820 – 4 August 1879) was an

Imperial Austria The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

n-born and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n physicist and chemist. Born into a poor family in

Feleacu Feleacu ( hu, Erdőfelek; german: Fleck) is a commune in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, South ...

, then in Imperial Austrian-ruled

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

and now in

Cluj County Cluj County (; german: Kreis Klausenburg, hu, Kolozs megye) is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Transylvania. Its seat ( ro, Oraș reședință de județ) is Cluj-Napoca (german: Klausenburg). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Kolozs megye ...

, he attended primary school in nearby

Cluj ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

(''Kolozsvár''). He went to high school in Cluj,

Blaj Blaj (; archaically spelled as ''Blaș''; hu, Balázsfalva; german: Blasendorf; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Blußendref'') is a municipiu, city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 20,630 inhabita ...

, and

Bistrița (; german: link=no, Bistritz, archaic , Transylvanian Saxon: , hu, Beszterce) is the capital city of Bistrița-Năsăud County, in northern Transylvania, Romania. It is situated on the Bistrița River. The city has a population of approxima ...

, and began work as an apprentice during that time in order to support himself. In 1843, he graduated with high marks from the Cluj Academy of Law (later incorporated in

Franz Joseph University Royal Hungarian Franz Joseph University ( hu, Magyar Királyi Ferenc József Tudományegyetem) was the second modern university in the Hungarian realm of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Founded in 1872, its seat was initially in Kolozsvár (Cluj ...

). He was an active participant during the

Transylvanian Revolution of 1848 Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

. In 1850, after receiving a scholarship, he left for the Vienna Polytechnic. There, he proved an able experimenter, and a professor allowed him to live in the physics institute's building. In 1856, invited by

August Treboniu Laurian __NOTOC__ August Treboniu Laurian (; 17 July 1810 – 25 February 1881) was a Transylvanian Romanian politician, historian and linguist. He was born in the village of Hochfeld, Principality of Transylvania, Austrian Empire (today Fofeldea as part ...

, he came to

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

, where he was named professor of physics and chemistry at the newly founded institute of higher education that evolved from ''

Academia Mihăileană Academia Mihăileană was an institution of higher learning based in Iași, Moldavia, and active in the first part of the 19th century. Like other Eastern European institutions of its kind, it was both a high school and a higher learning institut ...

''. His hiring at Iași formed part of a wider educational reform initiated by ''

domnitor ''Domnitor'' (Romanian pl. ''Domnitori'') was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881. It was usually translated as "prince" in other languages and less often as "grand duke". Derived from the Romanian word "''domn''" ...

Grigore Alexandru Ghica Grigore Alexandru Ghica or Ghika (1803 or 1807 – 24 August 1857) was a Prince of Moldavia between 14 October 1849, and June 1853, and again between 30 October 1854, and 3 June 1856. His wife was Helena, a member of the Sturdza family and dau ...

in 1849. In 1858, in order to popularize science, he initiated a free physics course which drew large audiences. When the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia Mih ...

was founded in 1860, he was named full professor in the physics and chemistry department. He taught both subjects until 1878, when the department split and he was left with only the physics section. Together with

Petru Poni Petru Poni (4 January 1841 – 2 April 1925) was a Moldavian (later Romanian) chemist and mineralogist. Born into a family of ''răzeși'' (free peasants) in Săcărești, Iași County, he attended primary school in Târgu Frumos. In 1852, he enro ...

, he pushed for the establishment of a chemistry laboratory. This began to take shape in the 1864–1865 academic year, when 2000 lei were allocated in the university budget for said purpose. He served as the university's rector between 1867 and 1875. In August 1864, at Cluj, he married Veronica Câmpeanu. His scientific activity primarily consisted of astronomical and meteorological observations. Although his lecture notes are lost,

Constantin Istrati Constantin I. Istrati (7 September 1850 – 17 January 1919) was a Romanian chemist and physician. He was president of the Romanian Academy between 1913 and 1916. He was born in 1850 in Roman, Moldavia (now in Neamț County, Romania). He studied ...

reported seeing manuscripts of Micle's on mineralogy; agricultural mechanics; astronomy; botany; zoology; and analytic, inorganic, organic and experimental chemistry. He died in Iași in 1879.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Micle, Stefan 1820 births 1879 deaths People from Cluj County Romanian people in the Principality of Transylvania (1711–1867) Austrian Empire emigrants to Romania Romanian physicists Romanian chemists Romanian revolutionaries People of the Revolutions of 1848 Alexandru Ioan Cuza University faculty Rectors of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University TU Wien alumni Franz Joseph University alumni